When you plan to buy a new car, many questions arise. For many years, the brand of German manufacturer Volkswagen has been among the most popular and favorite car brands in Latvia. A suitable model for any budget can be found, and Volkswagen price is just one of those reasons why the brand has won the hearts of the drivers. The brand also has a great reputation as a manufacturer of reliable and safe cars. There are cars of different sizes available, and the maintenance is also simple. The VW is rooted in pre-war Germany when the brand gained its popularity due to its reduced fuel consumption.

To those that are considering buying Volkswagen, we offer to take a look at the main aspects that should be paid attention to in order to make sure that the new car successfully lives up to the expectations. This list is offered in cooperation with the innovative classifieds portal dalder.lv.

1 - get to know the seller!

In the used Volkswagen market, it is important to make sure of the honesty of the seller. In most classified portals it is not possible; however, on dalder.lv there are a number of sellers' websites available. Every user of the portail gets one automatically upon registering. Next to each classified, it is possible to find the name and surname of the person that has added the classified or see the name of the particular Volkswagen dealer. By clicking on these details, one is taken to the individual seller's website. The most useful section on this website is reviews. Feedback can be added by other registered portal users that have concluded a deal with the particular seller.

The seller can also respond to the comments left by the customers. For example, if the review has been negative, it is important to pay attention to what the reaction of the seller has been. Not always the seller can be fully sure of the true condition of the car. But honest traders react to negative reviews with understanding and often offer a solution immediately in the reviews section. Seller's responses to negative comments tells a lot about what awaits a future client in case he/she has decided to buy Volkswagen himself/herself and an unpleasant situation is experienced.

Positive reviews in which clients have shared their satisfaction with the final purchase of Volkswagen, increase the confidence in the seller's reliability.

2 - apply for car diagnostics!

A significant part of purchasing any used car is a service visit for car diagnostics. It is recommended to buy Volkswagen only to sellers that do not refuse this test. During diagnostics, the true condition of the car is determined, but a computer that is linked to the car, reflects damages of certain details in the form of codes. After this inspection, a service mechanic can provide the information on how long the car still will reliably last, what the provisional costs of service may be and after how long the first visit to the mechanic may be needed.

Even though the imported cars from abroad can really be in a good condition, one has to take into account that even seemingly small defects may soon turn into a serious problem that requires additional expenses. If a buyer does not apply for car diagnostics, as a result he/she does not obtain a full-fledged information on the true Volkswagen price. Because soon the costs of service may add to the initial price indicated in the classified. It means that buying a new car may turn out to be much more expensive than anticipated in the beginning.

Trusting what the seller says or performing the visual inspection of the car on one's own account, significant details may be missed due to stress, excitement or thrill. But the service mechanics, in turn, will notice and recognize all the significant damages of the car with a neutral and professional attitude. It will help avoiding a compulsive and emotional purchase, taking also into account the logical arguments. Also positive reviews of previous buyers is not a 100% guarantee that the new car put up for sale is at its best condition - only the professionals of the industry can determine that.

3 - Get to know the potential expenses!

Even if you have decided to buy VW from the official Volkswagen dealer, it is still recommended to learn about all the expenses related to maintenance of the car. It is recommended to find out how much petrol the particular Volkswagen model requires to drive a certain distance, and then calculate the potential costs of the fuel. If you have decided to buy an electric Volkswagen, you should find out how many kilometers can be driven after one charging and how much that would cost. Expenses for OCTA and KASKO insurance also must be taken into account. It is also possible to take a loan to buy Volkswagen, and very often a down payment is needed. It is also necessary to assess one's possibility of covering the monthly loan payment.

In addition to that, annual repair costs must be added to the overall amount. According to information from RepairPal the average costs for maintaining a Volkswagen are estimated to be about 600 EUR a year. It is just a few euros more than the industry average. True, according to a recent study of Vincentric, for Volkswagen models of 2021 this amount is lower. Possibly, it is related to the electrification of Volkswagen models as overall the expenses of maintaining electric cars are said to be lower than it is for petrol or diesel-powered cars. It is one of the reasons why it may be worth considering to buy Volkswagen with an electric battery.

4 - How to sell in the future?

Not only to those that have decided to buy Volkswagen but also in case of buying a new car of any brand, another significant aspect that should be taken into account is the chances of selling it successfully in the future. It is especially useful to compare a Folkswagen standard with its electric version. As it was concluded in an interviews by the executive director of IT company “Atea Global” (that has one of the biggest electric parks in Latvia) Maksims Piščuļins,in the future (about 2025), it may already be difficult to seller a classic car, that is why it is worth looking in the direction of electric models.

Also the creator of the platform uzladets.lv Karlis Mendzins has indicated that after 2025 there are changes to be expected in the market. The electric cars are expected to become the main choice, besides, it will also be a more reasonable decision from the financial point of view.

The future of European transport is also clearly marked by the guidelines set in the European Green Deal which have established a gradual transition to electric transportation. It is expected that by 2050 climate neutrality in Europe will be achieved. It means that we will have experienced the next industrial revolution. In England, however, the ban of manufacturing new petrol and diesel-powered cars will take effect in 2030.

A good example of how this switch to electric transport may happen in the near future in the whole of Europe is Norway where electric cars have already become popular and common. In 2020, the market share of electric cars had already surpassed the number of cars with internal combustion engines. One should

It is expected that the demand for electric cars in the future will grow, but the petrol and diesel-powered cars will continue to lose their popularity and demand. That is something to consider when deciding to buy Volkswagen.

5 - What are the alternatives?

In addition to the previous point, everyone that has decided to buy Volkswagen, it is important to be aware of the alternatives and advantages that each of them offer. When it comes to the engine, it is worth paying attention to the fact that Volkswagen is moving towards zero emissions. As it states the official representative of Volkswagen in Latvia on its website, the company is going to take responsibility for its carbon footprint. Until 2050 the company aims at reaching carbon neutrality. Folkswagen invites everyone to become a part of this transition by choosing some of the alternative drive systems.

The company takes a special pride in its first fully carbon neutral Folkswagen model ID.3. Not only does this car emit a minimal amount of CO2 in the long run, but also the manufacturing process and delivery is fully carbon neutral.

It is possible to buy Folkswagen with such alternative drive systems as plug-in hybrid or mild hybrid. These models also reflect the effort to move towards a future of mobility with no emissions, which, possibly, is one of the greatest challenges that the car manufacturing companies have ever faced.

Dalder.lv - a modern support

If electric vehicles are the future of transport, then dalder.lv is the current leader of innovation within the field of classified portals. To buy Volkswagen on this market platform is much safer than on any other classifieds portal. This is a one-of-a-kind platform in Latvia and the only classified portal that ensures an option to read reviews about sellers, thus making sure that the chances of getting cheated or buying a low-quality car are decreased.

It is possible to buy Folkswagen both from dealers as well as from individual sellers. And on dalder.lv there are websites for those both types of sellers. That ensures a transparent process of car buying and selling, promoting a culture of safe deals in Latvia. If you still have not registered on the platform and want to buy Volkswagen, check out the offers on the new classified portal!